§ BARONESS WOOTTON OF ABINGERasked Her Majesty's Government:
- (1) What proportion of newly qualified doctors have entered general practice in each of the past five years, and what was the corresponding proportion for each of the years 1934–38; and
- (2) what is the present ratio of general practitioners to the population of England and Wales, and what was the corresponding figure for 1938.
§ THE MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO (LORD CHAMPION)I regret that the information requested in the first part of the Question is not available.
As regards the second part, at October 1, 1965, the ratio of population to doctors providing full general medical services under the National Health Service was approximately 2,375:1. The most nearly comparable ratio available for 1938 is that of population to general practitioners providing services under the National Health Insurance Scheme. This was 2,415:1.